President of Costa Rica Luis Guillermo Solís, declared November 3 as the National Day of Biosphere Reserves in recognition to the determinant role that these territories have in the conservation of biodiversity and the use of natural resources.

The decree, signed in San Gerardo de Dota by the President and the Minister of Environment, Edgar Guttierrez, also includes clear dispositions that establish the organic structure for the management of these areas, which falls on families, productive sectors and environmental organizations, among other participating agents.

“The Biosphere Reserves have a crucial role in the generation of opportunities for the productive development, the biodiversity sustainability, water resources and the communities’ adaptability to climate change, and thus it is important that we organize our efforts and work towards improving their management through possible alliances between the different local sectors and international sectors”, commented President Luis Guillermo Solís.

These areas constitute an international category of conservation established by the UNESCO that considers people and community as a fundamental element for the sustainable development of a country.

Our country has currently four Biosphere Reserves: La Amistad –Talamanca, the Central Volcanic Mountain Range, Water and Peace, and Savegre which was recently designated as such.

As of now the communities will organize themselves to form Biosphere Reserve Local Management Committees, which along with the National Committee on the Human Being and the Biosphere, and the person assigned by the Ministry of Environment, will properly manage the resources.

La Amistad-Talamanca Biosphere Reserve – was designated as such by UNESCO in 1983 and encompasses 612,750 hectares. These area is inhabited by four different indigenous tribes, and includes rainforests and cloud forests.

Central Volcanic Mountain Range- a biosphere reserve since 1988 and involves 650,918 hectares, including Braulio Carrillo National Park, Irazú Volcano and Turrialba Volcano.

Water and Peace – encompasses 916,119 which includes the the Juan Castro Blanco National Park, the Caño Negro Refuge, four biological corridors and the Maleku indigenous community.

Savegre River– named as such on June 14, it includes 312,914 hectares which includes four counties: s, Dota, Tarrazú, Pérez Zeledón and Aguirre; seven wildlife protected areas and three biological corridors.